An Examination of Courage in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried

Summary: Tim O'Brien's novel The Things They Carried, specifically the chapter entitled "On the Rainy River," offers a complex look at wartime courage. At age 21, O'Brien faced a conflict over his decision of whether to go to war, because he saw both the option to go to war and the option not to go as actions of cowardice, each in their own way.

For a 21-year-old I believe that O'Brien had a very complex theory of courage, for him to realize the problems of man and what he had to do to escape this unjust war is amazing. Whereas then he felt that going to war was cowardly, he also felt initially that not going to war was just as cowardly, that is why he has such a conflict while on the Rainy River. He was torn between believing what the government was telling him that it was a just war and one that deserved to be fought in by him, even though he knows this is wrong he still feels this at times, while at other times he feels stronger and wants to believe the truth that war is wrong and he should not go to war. Unfortunately is he chose to not go to war, he would face criticism...